Trump Pulling Out of Paris Accord: Amounts to Redistribution of Wealth to Foreign Countries

(CNSNews.com) - President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord because the current deal hamstrings the United States economy and amounts to a redistribution of wealth to other nations that aren't subjected to such stringent terms.

The president said the U.S. will begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or "entirely new transactions on terms that are fair" to the U.S. and its businesses.

"In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate accord, but begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or really entirely new transactions on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its taxpayers, so we're getting out but we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that's fair," Trump said during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden.

"As president, I can put no other consideration before the well-being of American citizens. The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers who I love and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories and vastly diminished economic production," he said.

Trump pointed to China and India as countries that the Paris Accord will benefit while the U.S. is given more restrictions.

"For example, under the agreement, China will be able to increase these emissions by a staggering number of years - 13. They can do whatever they want for 13 years - not us," he said. "India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries. There are many other examples, but the bottom line is that the Paris Accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States."

He said China will be able to build hundreds of additional coal plants, while the U.S. won't be allowed to build any new coal plants according to the agreement.

"India will be able to double its coal production by 2020. Think of it, India can double their coal production. We're supposed to get rid of ours. Even Europe is allowed to continue construction of coal plants," he said.

"In short, the agreement doesn't eliminate coal jobs. It just transfers those jobs out of America and the United States and ships them to foreign countries. This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States," Trump said.

He said the world applauded when the U.S. signed the agreement, because it put the country at a "very, very big economic disadvantage."

"The agreement is a massive redistribution of United States' wealth to other countries," he said.

Even if the U.S. and other countries fully complied with the Paris Agreement, Trump said, it's estimated to result in two-tenths of one degree Celsius reduction in global temperature by the year 2100. Furthermore, just two weeks of China's emissions would "wipe out the gains" made from the U.S.

"In fact, 14 days of emissions from China alone would wipe out the gains from America, and this is incredible statistic, would totally wipe out the gains from America's expected reductions in the year 2030 after we have had to spend billions and billions of dollars, lost jobs, closed factories, and suffered much higher energy costs for our businesses and for our homes," the president said.

The president pledged that under his administration, the U.S. "will continue to be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on earth."

He also issued a challenge to Democrats to work with him to negotiate a new Paris agreement.

"I'm willing to immediately work with Democratic leaders to either negotiate our way back into Paris under the terms that are fair to the United States and its workers or to negotiate a new deal that protects our country and its taxpayers," he said.

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